Definition of "parotid" [pa•rot•id]

• A parotid gland. (noun)
• Situated near the ear: the parotid region of the face. (adjective)
• Of or relating to a parotid gland. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "* Cancer of a salivary gland near the ear called the parotid"
• "The mumps, inflammation of the "parotid" gland, is commonly ushered in with a slight feverish attack."
• "It is contagious, and has been known to run through a whole family or school; but it is not dangerous, unless, which is rarely the case, it leaves the "parotid" gland, and migrates either to the head, to the breast, or to the testicle."